After a delightful morning visiting the penguins and seals on the beaches of Right Whale Bay, we re-boarded the National Geographic Endurance and enjoyed a hearty lunch while it sailed further down the coast to the Bay of Isles. As we approached shore, hundreds of King Penguins leapt in the choppy waters in front of the ship, curious about this odd, huge creature that had joined them in the bay. This brief video gives you a sense of their frolic and a panoramic view of this broad alluvial plain fed by two glaciers – it’s the best way to see the whole scene!
We quickly cleaned and donned our waterproof boots and pants and hopped into the Zodiacs for a trip to shore… this time to visit the vast glacial plains known as Salisbury Plain. Read on, and check out the gallery of photos and videos!
Salisbury Plain, as the name suggests, is a wide, flat plain created by two receding glaciers. It provides vast beach and a grassy habitat for nesting King Penguins – over 73,000 pairs according to the expedition team. That means there are over two hundred thousand penguins that call this beach home! It’s hard to grasp the sheer scale of the colony once you are on shore and up close.
I saw more chicks in this colony than we had seen in the morning. These fat little brown fuzzballs snuggled close to the adults, who kept a close eye on them lest one of the predatory Skua birds might swoop down to snag them. (We often saw Skua circling overhead and swooping low, looking for any opportunity.)
We also saw hundreds of fur seals. The seal pups were cute, and highly curious. One cute little fellow was nuzzling an old whale vertebra, washed ashore long ago [video].
Don’t miss the gallery of photos and videos!
David Kotz 